Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello everybody,
a couple of weeks ago I was asked to give English lessons to an adult who has very little, almost no knowledge of the language (he told me he had studied English at school about 10 years ago, and now he remembers only some words and functions). He'd like to focus on conversation because he will probably leave for a long journey to the USA next July, and he would like to be able to have an acceptable conversation with American people. I know there are many books and magazines about conversation for advanced learners, but what about beginners? Is it possible to teach English in order to have an acceptable conversation in such a short time? Have you got ideas or materials (books, websites...) to suggest? Thanks in advance!!!!

Most of the EFL books put the emphasis on speaking in the beginning such as Headway, Cutting Edge and Interchange. Any of these books would be appropriate for your beginner. I've also put some basic pronunciation material on my site, which you are very welcome to use:
http://www.jamesabela.co.uk/beginner/Pronunciation.html

James

Yeah, I think it's possible for him to learn some everyday English .among so many coversation books you can choose an easy one .simple english sentences for dayly life is ok .You'd better offer him a book with a tape.Tell him to memorize some sentences every day.

mggialdi wrote:Hello everybody,
a couple of weeks ago I was asked to give English lessons to an adult who has very little, almost no knowledge of the language (he told me he had studied English at school about 10 years ago, and now he remembers only some words and functions). He'd like to focus on conversation because he will probably leave for a long journey to the USA next July, and he would like to be able to have an acceptable conversation with American people. I know there are many books and magazines about conversation for advanced learners, but what about beginners? Is it possible to teach English in order to have an acceptable conversation in such a short time? Have you got ideas or materials (books, websites...) to suggest? Thanks in advance!!!!

Yeah, Cutting Edge is great! However, I've been using Headway, too, but it simply doesn't work with some students, well, let's say it's boring a bit sometimes...
You can also try "In English" by Peter Viney and Karen Viney. It's highly conversational with a step-by-step structure and the accompanying 3in1 Practice pack involves audio CD as well. (I think it's even cheaper than Headway or Cutting Edge. ) I consider it the best for beginners actually.
A great supplementary grammar and phrase book is : Language Links by Adrian Doff&Christopher Jones.